# Do you think this type of behaviour is racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299 "2013-01-07T00:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TheCrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@TheCrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCrow)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/1 "2013-01-07T00:52:33Z")
Do you think the behaviour represented by the woman in [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRfjLfyXYlA) is a typical racist behaviour? ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/2 "2013-01-07T00:56:26Z")
What about the video was “typical racist behaviour?” In your own words. ---
**Author:** ![TheCrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@TheCrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCrow)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/3 "2013-01-07T00:59:18Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > What about the video was “typical racist behaviour?” > In your own words. I don’t understand your question because of its wording. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/4 "2013-01-07T01:01:58Z")
**chiroptera** is saying “You first.” ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/5 "2013-01-07T01:09:08Z")
I don’t think it’s _necessarily_ racist. A lot of people are uncomfortable being in close proximity to strangers regardless of colour, and in an elevator there’s nowhere to move, so you get uncomfortable body language. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/6 "2013-01-07T01:09:25Z")
I’d call her behavior mildly racist, yes: the fear-based sort of racism, not the hate-based. But though I myself have been the object of such fear and find it vexing, I think the fellow’s reaction was both wrong-headed and itself bigoted. And HIS racism was hate-based. He’s allowed his justifiable irritation with being feared for stupid reasons to make him a racist. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/7 "2013-01-07T01:12:55Z")
It’s only racist if she clutched her purse because she thought someone of his race might steal it. We don’t know why she did it so we can’t say it is or it isn’t. She could be clutching her purse because he’s male, or because she’s nervous, or thinks it’s rude to leave her purse swinging around in another person’s space. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/8 "2013-01-07T01:20:55Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > **chiroptera** is saying “You first.” Exactly. Maybe she was clutching her purse because the elevator guy was a man? We females are trained to mistrust males, after all. Or because he was dressed differently. Or because she was trained to mistrust all strangers. Simply not enough evidence in that little video to make an assumption of “racism.” ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/9 "2013-01-07T01:22:41Z")
He lost me as soon as he uttered “stupid white bitch”. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/10 "2013-01-07T01:23:56Z")
If any person got in a lift with me and took the centre close to me/potentially blocking me from hitting the emergency button instead of moving to one side as is standard lift behaviour you can bet I will assume he is not someone I want near me regardless of his colour, gender or height issues. The next vid of the woman rolling up the car windows and locking the car doors is a better example, mind you, it may just be embarrassment at someone spotting her singing to Katy Perry and the same could happen if he was instead a car full of hipsters. Katy Perry can get you shunned for life. ---
**Author:** ![TheCrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@TheCrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCrow)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/11 "2013-01-07T01:26:24Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > What about the video was “typical racist behaviour?” > In your own words. Yes, perhaps. I believe all people are racist even tough they deny it. Some people are blatantly racist and some of them are polite racist. Most people do stealth-bashing. They are pussyfooting around, with a passive-aggressive attitude, speaking in clever double entendre, and pouting. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/12 "2013-01-07T01:37:15Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’d call her behavior mildly racist, yes: the fear-based sort of racism, not the hate-based. But though I myself have been the object of such fear and find it vexing I am very sorry to hear that. Just to let you know, I was raised to step to the side, or at least to make a show of it, as it shows respect for the personal space of the person getting on after me, and is intended to “welcome” them into this shared space. Also, I hold my bag to me so that I don’t whack the walls or other people with it, damaging them or the medical equipment inside. I’m a big girl, and I realize I take up more than my fair share of space in an elevator; I’ll do everything I can to minimize that and make you feel more comfortable. In other words, I do the same thing that women does - for black dudes, for white dudes, for women, for children, for people in wheelchairs…especially for people in wheelchairs. Those things suck to maneuver in an elevator. I’m practically going to huddle in the corner to try to give a wheelchair enough room to turn around. So it bothers me that you’re bothered, because I’m absolutely not doing it because you’re black. I’m doing it because you’re a person, and an object in space. > [@](#): > > , I think the fellow’s reaction was both wrong-headed and itself bigoted. And HIS racism was hate-based. He’s allowed his justifiable irritation with being feared for stupid reasons to make him a racist. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/13 "2013-01-07T01:39:21Z")
> [@TheCrow](#): > > Yes, perhaps. I believe all people are racist even tough they deny it. Some people are blatantly racist and some of them are polite racist. Most people do stealth-bashing. They are pussyfooting around, with a passive-aggressive attitude, speaking in clever double entendre, and pouting. Do you think “all people” of all races are inherently racist on some level? Or do you believe only that “all people” of certain races are racist, passive-aggressive, pouting, etc? And if so, which races would that be? Again, I am only using and reflecting back your own words here. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/14 "2013-01-07T01:59:39Z")
I might clutch my belongings to myself and try to huddle smaller if someone of any race got on an elevator with me and then insisted on standing directly in the center of the elevator instead of moving over so there was space between us, like a normal human being should. Just like I might clutch my belongings to myself and try to huddle smaller if someone came and sat in a chair right next to me instead of leaving a space between us in a row of empty chairs. I don’t know why she’d shove her bag at a little guy like that just because he made a sudden move at her, though. He’s half her size! But, yeah, it’s probably at least a little racist of her, given that she betrays utter terror when he startles her. Or it might be a little sexist, if she’s just afraid of all men. Or maybe it’s a little sexist of him that he infringed on her space in the elevator because she’s a woman. Looks like there’s a lot of room for interpretation here. ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/15 "2013-01-07T02:08:03Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > But, yeah, it’s probably at least a little racist of her, given that she betrays utter terror when he startles her. Or it might be a little sexist, if she’s just afraid of all men. Or maybe it’s a little sexist of him that he infringed on her space in the elevator because she’s a woman. Looks like there’s a lot of room for interpretation here. Her reaction doesn’t seem unusual to me. Some people are just naturally jumpy. And even those who aren’t might understandly be freaked out when a total stranger did that; it’s one thing from a friend and another from someone you know nothing about. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/16 "2013-01-07T02:09:14Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I am very sorry to hear that. Just to let you know, I was raised to step to the side, or at least to make a show of it, as it shows respect for the personal space of the person getting on after me, and is intended to “welcome” them into this shared space. Also, I hold my bag to me so that I don’t whack the walls or other people with it, damaging them or the medical equipment inside. I’m a big girl, and I realize I take up more than my fair share of space in an elevator; I’ll do everything I can to minimize that and make you feel more comfortable. > > In other words, I do the same thing that women does - for black dudes, for white dudes, for women, for children, for people in wheelchairs…especially for people in wheelchairs. Those things suck to maneuver in an elevator. I’m practically going to huddle in the corner to try to give a wheelchair enough room to turn around. > > So it bothers me that you’re bothered, because I’m absolutely not doing it because you’re black. I’m doing it because you’re a person, and an object in space. > > Agreed. Ditto for me (except for the medical equipment part). ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/17 "2013-01-07T02:16:41Z")
Yes, but even if the guy was white, wouldn’t it be reasonable and acceptable for a single, alone woman of any race to tighten up and be a little wary when placed in a situation alone with a man, regardless of race? Ted Bundy and literally scores of other serial killer-rapists were white, and as a female of a certain age, we were inculcated to fear men in general regardless of race. Does that make me sexist? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/18 "2013-01-07T02:22:38Z")
Just wondering why you had to make two near-identical threads about racism videos a couple minutes apart? Couldn’t the topic have been covered in a single thread? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/19 "2013-01-07T02:31:09Z")
> [@Thylacine](#): > > If any person got in a lift with me and took the centre close to me/potentially blocking me from hitting the emergency button instead of moving to one side as is standard lift behaviour you can bet I will assume he is not someone I want near me regardless of his colour, gender or height issues. So be the person next to the emergency button to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299/21 "2013-01-07T02:49:22Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > So be the person next to the emergency button to begin with. No, that’s rude, because the emergency button is in the same part of the lift as the floor buttons, and you would be blocking them from pressing a button for their floor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-this-type-of-behaviour-is-racist/646299.md?page=2)